So, its time for another post revisit and this one is on the sci-fi classic action thriller, Total Recall starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
So, after 33 years, let's take another look and see how Total Recall fairs...
And the usual warning is coming...
PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD
STORY
Right so the story begins with the story's main protagonist, Douglas
Quaid (Arnie) waking up from a nightmare as he was dreaming about being
on Mars alongside a mysterious woman but in the dream he slips down a
mountain and cracks open his space helmet, which results in him
beginning to suffocate. Quaid however has a decent normal life where he
works as a construction worker and is married to the beautiful Lori
(Sharon Stone). Quaid says to Lori that they should move to Mars but
she is discouraged by the idea and tries to convince him not to.
Quaid then decides to go to Rekall, which is a company who provides implant memories of vacations and opts to go on a trip to Mars as a secret agent. However during the procedure something goes wrong and Quaid becomes agitated and appears to reveal some repressed memories and he is sedated by the Rekall staff who also wipes his memory and put him in a taxi. As Quaid comes round after he is dropped off he is suddenly met with his fellow worker and friend, Harry (Robert Costanzo) along with some other construction workers they lead him away at gunpoint but Quaid suddenly out of nowhere reveals he has superior fighting skills and he kills them and flees.
Quaid returns home where he tells Lori of his
visit to Rekall and how he killed the construction workers, which leads
to Lori making a call to someone unknown. Soon after Quaid is attacked
by Lori who attempts to kill him with a gun but he soon disarms her and
she admits that their marriage was a fake and his memories of their
marriage were implants and his job was set up by an agency and she
herself was sent by her boss, the corrupt Vilos Cohaagen (Ronny Cox).
Quaid then knocks out Lori and then leaves but is soon persued by one of
the Cohaagen's henchmen, Richter (Michael Ironside) who turns out to be
Lori's real husband but he manages to escape them.
Quaid afterward is given a suitcase containing money, gadgets, false
IDs, a disguise and a video recording which is of himself except in the
video Quaid calls himself "Hauser" and says that he used to work for
Cohaagen but he found out about a precious alien artefact on Mars, which
Cohaagen is after, so he had his mind wiped to protect himself. Hauser
tells Quaid to get to Mars and also remove a bug that was implanted in
his head, which he does by using a special gadget provided in the
suitcase and he flees just as Richter and his men arrive.
And from here, Quaid travels to Mars where he must find a way to discover his hidden memories and stop his enemies...
THOUGHTS
There is not much doubt that Total Recall is one of Arnie's most
entertaining films but it is also one of his most violent as well but it
still manages despite that to be a fairly intelligent sci-fi action
film which has no shortage of twists and turns. The film itself is
based on a story "We can remember it for you wholesale" by the legendary
sci-fi writer, Philip K.Dick and at the time the writers of Alien and
also of this film's screenplay, Ronald Shusset and Dan Bannon tried to
get the book made into a film but to no avail.
And after being taken to
several studios and years afterward, Arnie himself was interested in
the project and got the film production company, Carolco to buy the
rights for the film and insisted that he star in it as well and also
even managed to give himself rights to veto any member of the production
and the studio (wow!). After Arnie was onboard and negotiated his
salary for the film he then approached Paul Verhoeven to direct the film
having been impressed with him from seeing Robocop and the rest is
history.
PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section contains spoilers and strong language!)
Performance wise Total Recall is actually pretty good overall even
though Arnie as we all know was never and is never going to be the
greatest Thespian on the planet, he still slips effortlessly into
playing the role of Quaid and provides the usual wisecracks along the
way as well as racking up a hefty bodycount.
Arnie has his share of good scenes in the film himself such as the one where after having killed his co-worker Harry and some construction workers goes back to Lori and she says "Those assholes at Rekall have fucked up your mind! Youre having paranoid delusions!" and Quaid shows her his bloody hands "You call THIS a deluison?!". And in the same scene after they fight, Quaid holds a gun to Lori who nervously says "You wouldn't shoot me, would you Doug? After all we've been through" and Quaid considers it and says "Yeah some of it was fun!" and he punches her knocking her out cold, he takes his jacket and leaves saying "Nice knowing you!".
Then there is the scene where Quaid goes to an abandoned building and opens the suitcase he was given and plays a video of himself or "Hauser" and Hauser says to Quaid "Well howdy buddy. If you're watching this video, then I assume I am talking to myself and you've got a wet towel wrapped around your head. Now get ready for a big surprise. You are not you anymore. You are me!" and Quaid says "No shit!". And as the scene carries on, Hauser tells Quaid "Right first off all, we need to get rid of that bug in your head. Just take the device out of the case and shove it up your nose, don't worry its self guiding" and Quaid nervously prepares the device and he shoves it right up his right nostril and Hauser says "Just shove real hard!". Quaid then painfully pulls with the device as his nose begins to bulge with the effort of pulling the bug out and Hauser says "Careful, its my head too!" and Quaid finally pulls out the bug and looks at it.
Hauser in the video then tells Quaid "This is the plan. Get your ass to Mars, and go to the Hilton Hotel and flash the fake Brubaker I.D. at the front desk, that's all there is to it. Just do as I tell you. You can nail that son of a bitch that fucked you and me. I'm counting on you, old buddy. Don't let me down!".
Another good scene comes when Quaid is visited Dr Edgemar on Mars who tries to persuade him to take the pill and that he is still at Rekall strapped into the chair and Quaid says "Ah I get it! I'm dreaming! And this all part of the wonderful vacation your company has provided!". Dr Edgemar then tells Quaid "I'm afraid you've suffered a schizoid embelism and you are in a free falling delusion, which you are making up as you go". and Quaid asks "If this is my delusion, then who the hell invited you?" and Edgemar tells him "I've been artificially implanted to bring you down". Quaid then says "Let's say this is a dream" and he points his gun at Edgemar's head and says "..then I can pull this trigger and it won't matter". However as Edgemar gives him the pill and persuades him to swallow, Quaid notices a bead of sweat on Edgemar's head and Quaid shoots him dead and spits out the pill.
Then there is the scene where Quaid is taken to Cohaagen after Quato has been killed and Cohaagen says to Quaid "Well, my boy, you're a hero!" and Quaid angrily says "Fuck you" and Cohaagen says "Now, don't be modest!". And as Cohaagen explains his convoluted plan to expose and kill Quato by using Quaid in place of Hauser, Quaid says "Well, Cohaagen, I've got to hand it to you. Its the best mind fuck yet!". Cohaagen then says "Don't take my word for it, an old friend of yours has something to say" and he plays another video of Hauser.
So, Hauser in the video says "Howdy, Quaid. If you're watching this, that means that Kuato is dead, and you led us to him. I knew that you wouldn't let me down. Sorry for all of the shit I've put you through, but hey, what are friends are for? All I want to do is wish you happiness and good living, old buddy, but unfortunately, that's not gonna happen. You see, that's "my" body you have there, and I want it back. Sorry for being an Indian giver, but I was here first. So, adios, amigo and thanks for not getting yourself killed! Who knows? Maybe we meet each other in our dreams, you never know!" and he smiles as we see Cohaagen along side him.
And last of all there is the scene where Quaid fights
Richter on a lift as the lift rises, Quaid hits him and leaves Richter
dangling who grabs hold of Quaid's arms but as the lift rises over a
structure, Richter's arms are severed and falls to his death and Quaid
holds Richter's arms, throwing them away he shouts out "See you a the
party, Richter!!".
Sharon Stone who was virtually unknown back then is excellent here as
the seductive and dangerous Lori who poses as Quaid's wife but really is
working as an agent for Cohaagen.
Sharon obviously has some good scenes as well such her opening scene where Quaid wakes up from his nightmare and she comforts him but get's angry when she asks him about his dream with another women on Mars. So, she asks "Who is she?" and Quaid smiles and says "Lori, I can't believe you are jealous of a dream" and Lori asks "Who is she?" and Quaid says "Nobody" and she says teasinlgy "Nobody! Tell me who she is" and Quaid says "I don't know!". Lori then becomes annoyed and starts slapping him "Its not funny! You dream about her every night!" and Quaid says "But I'm always back in the morning!" and Quaid grabs her and says "Come one, baby, you know you're girl of my dreams" and they kiss and she says to him as she undoes her top "I'll give you something to dream about!".
And later on in the scene where Lori attacks Quaid she reveals to him the truth about himself as he holds her at gunpoint. So, Quaid says "Talk! I said talk!" and Lori gasps "I'm not your wife!" and Quaid says "The hell you're not!" and Lori says "I swear to God, I've only known you for six weeks, our marriage was an implant at the agency". And Quaid asks "My job, eight yours together?" and Lori says "The job's real, the agency set it up" and Quaid let's her go and says "Bullshit!". Lori get's up and says "I was written in as your wife to watch and make sure the erasure took" and she says "Sorry Quaid, you're whole life is just a dream" and Quaid asks "Well, if I'm not me, who the hell am I?" and Lori says "Beats me I just work here". And then Lori follows it up by saying "You were the best assignment I ever had" and Quaid says "I'm honoured!" and Lori says "Are you sure you don't want to? Just for old time's sake? If you don't trust me you can tie me up!".
And later on there is the scene where Dr Edgemar tries to persuade Quaid to take the pill and he shoots him dead instead which prompts Lori to say "Now you've done it! NOW YOU'VE DONE IT!!!" which is a signal for Cohaagen's men to burst in and capture Quaid. And in the scene Lori kicks Quaid in the face "That's for making me come to Mars!" and she then kicks him in the nuts "You know much I hate this FUCKING PLANET!" and kicks him again and he passes out.
And then in her
last scene there, Stone as Lori engages in a fist fight with Melina and
as she is about to kill Melina, Quaid shoots Lori's knife out of her
hand and she says to him "Doug, honey... you wouldn't hurt me, would
you, sweetheart? Sweetheart, be reasonable. After all, we're married!"
and she goes to shoot him and Quaid kills her with a shot to the head. Quaid smiles and glibly says to her "Consider that a divorcce!".
Ronny Cox who is great as the main antagonist of the film,
Cohaagen who is a corrupt governor of the mining colony on Mars. And
Cox also has some great moments such as the one where he calls Richter
to his office and he says to Richter "Richter, you know why I'm such a
happy person?
Because I have one of the greatest jobs in the solar system. As long as
the turbinium keeps flowing, I can do anything I want. Anything! In
fact, the only thing I worry about is, one day, if the rebels win, it
all might end". And then Cohaagen turns angrily to Richter and yells
"AND YOU'RE FUCKING MAKING IT HAPPEN!!".
Another good scene from Cox comes when Cohaagen is looks at Kuato's dead body and he says to him "So this is the great man!" and he pulls back the cover saying with disgust "No wonder he kept out of sight!". And then there is the next scene where Cohaagen has Quaid and Melina placed in the implant chairs to have their minds erased and he says to Quaid "And you like Melina right? Well, you get to fuck her every night! That's right, she's going to be Hauser's babe!". And Melina angrily says "I'll bust his balls!" and Cohaagen says "Uh-uh, Princess. We're having you fixed. You're gonna be respectful, compliant, and appreciative... the way a woman should be!" and she spits in his face!
And lastly there is the scene near the end
where Cohaagen tries to stop Quaid from activating the tirbinium reactor
and he says to Quaid "In thirty seconds you'll be dead, and
I'll blow this place up and be home in time for Corn Flakes!". And as Quaid tries to touch the reactor, Cohaagen fires a warning shot at him and says "I wanted you to be Hauser, but no, you had to be Quaid!" and Quaid says to him "I AM Quaid" and Cohaagen "You're nothing! You're nobody! You're just a stupid dream! Well all dreams come to an end!".
Rachel Ticotin is also very good in her role as Melina,
the woman of Quaid's dreams who eventually helps Quaid and falls in love
with him as they fight together against Cohaagen.
Rachel has some good moments in the film as well such as the scene where Melina meets with Quaid at the bar and she says to him "Hello Hauser. Still bulging, I see" and she grabs his crotch and says "What have you been feeding this thing?" and Quaid says "Blondes" and Melina sexily says "Its still hungry!". And after they go upstairs she get's him in a room and then she slaps him in the face saying "You son of a bitch! You're alive? I thought that Cohaagen tortured you to death!". Melina then kisses Quaid and says "Hauser, thank god you're alive!" but Quaid pushes away and says "Melina! I don't remember you or us!". Melina then says "Hauser you've lost your mind" and Quaid tells her "Now I'm Quaid. Douglas Quaid".
Quaid then pleas with Melina to help him "Melina you've got to help me!" and Melina pushes him toward the door "Get out!" and Quaid points to his head and says "Hauser says there is enough in here to nail Cohaaegen for good!". However as Melina pushes further and says "Get out!" and Quaid says "Melina, please! People are tying to kill me!" and Melina takes a machine gun and points it at him and says "Really?!" and Quaid says "Fine, I'm leaving!".
And later on there is the big fist fight between Melina and Lori and after Quaid kills Lori, Melina looks up and says to Quaid "THAT was your wife?!" and Quaid nods and Melina get's up saying "What a bitch!" and Quaid shrugs as Melina get's up.
Then there is the scene where Coaahgen has Quaid and Melina strapped into the machines where their minds will be altered and Melina defies Cohaagen's wish to have her turned into an obedient partner. So, Cohaagen says to Quaid "As for Melina, you get to fuck her every night. That's right, she's gonna be Hauser's babe!" and Melina says "I'll bust his balls!" but Cohaagen tells her "No, we're having you fixed. You're going to be appreciative, obedient, just like every woman should be" and Melina then spits in his face. However, after Quaid manages to free himself from the machine and kills Cohaagen's men, Quaid releases her from the machine and asks "Melina! Are you still you?!" and Melina dazed says "I'm not sure. What do you think?" and she kisses him and says "Let's get the hell out of here!".
And last of all there is
the film's last moment (PLOT SPOILER!!!!!!!) where Mars has been saved
by Quaid who turns to be Melina and says "I just had a terrible thought,
what if this is a dream?" and Melina says "Well then kiss me quick
before you wake up!".
And lastly we have Michael Ironside who is great in his role as Richter,
Cohaagen's psychotic henchman and he appears to relish in his part.
Ironside is pretty much great as soon as he steps on screen and his
first scene quickly sets the tone for his character as he runs in to
check on Lori and one of his men goes to help her but Richter kicks the
man aside and warns him "Don't touch her!".
And in the scene after Richter fails to capture Quaid there is a good moment when Richter says "I want that fucker dead!" and his associate Helm says "I don't blame you, I wouldn't want Quaid porkin my old lady" and Richter threateningly says "You saying she liked it?!" and Helm teasingly says "No I'm sure she hated every minute of it!".
And then there is the scene where Quaid is placed in the implant chair and Richter asks the doctor who is about to work on Quaid "Excuse me, doctor, but is he gonna remember any of this?" and the doctor says "Not a thing" and Richter smiles saying "Oh really?" and he punches Quaid hard in the face. And as Cohaagen says to Quaid "Oh by the way I'm having a party tonight. Why don't you and Melina drop by" and Richter grins saying "See you at the party!".
And another good
scene for Ironside comes when after Quaid escapes from the implant
process, Richter goes into Cohaagen's office and says "You have to make a
decision, sir" and Cohaagen ponders and finally says "Kill him!" and
Richter smiles and cocks his gun saying "Its about goddamn time!". Richter then leaves hurriedly and Cohaagen angrily kicks over a fish tank, which cracks open with all the fish swimming about on the floor.
DIRECTOR AND MUSIC
And now for the director and music starting with the
film's director Paul Verhoeven who has done an excellent job with the
film and when it comes to making compelling violent action films he is
second to none (well he was back then anyway!). Verhoeven also keeps
the action and the pace going pretty thick and fast so the film is never
in any danger of lagging and he also manages to get some pretty good
performances out of his cast (well most of them!).
As for the film's
music it features an excellent score by the late and great Jerry
Goldsmith and the film's main theme is a memorable one also. Goldsmith
also nicely blends in some orchestral and electronic arrangements into
the score and it features some excellent tracks (especially the chase scene music for Quaid near the start and the theme where Quaid "opens his mind" to Kuato). So, overall it provides
the perfect tone for the film with a good mixture of atmosphere and
suspense.
FLAWS
Right as for the flaws.......well yeah OK Total Recall has some problems.
For starters I would say one of the problems I have with the film
is its over the top violence which is quite extreme at times. And even
though it is never really disturbing there are some moments where it can
make the viewer uncomfortable but at other times laugh out loud
(especially when in one scene Quaid jams a crowbar through the head of
one of Cohaagen's scientists!). But one such example of the film's
violence being over the top and unpleasant is in the scene when Quaid
uses an innocent bystander on a moving escalator as a human shield, who
proceeds to get shot to pieces as Quaid uses him for cover to take down
Richter's men. Its always been the one violent scene in the film that I
felt went just that bit too far but then again in Verhoeven's mind you
can never go too far, morely a case you can never go far enough no
doubt!
Another thing that bugged me was some of the special effects are a bit naff looking especially the
rather pointless scene where Quaid tries to disguise himself as a women
using a special body suit and a face mask, which starts to malfunction
and he is forced to deactivate it and reveal himself. But it begs the
question??? Why didn't he just change his clothes and wear a baseball
cap and some shades or something??? Or even shave his head??!! Achh
well.
The visuals of the film also look a bit ugly at times, especially the Mars sequences which have some a drab colour palette (well it is Mars I guess!) but in future films such as The Martian, they succeeded in at least making Mars look a bit more pleasing to the eye but here it is pretty ugly (but I guess that was maybe the point).
Then there are some annoying inclusions in the film such as the Johnny cabs, which are just a daft idea of having a friendly robotic cabbie automatically driving the cab for passengers (voiced by Robert Picardo). In fact the moment where Quaid yanks out the Johnny cab robot and self drives it himself has that silly moment where it says "Fast your seat belt!" and "We hope you enjoyed the ride!".
Another thing was although I never read the short story by Philip K.
Dick I would however imagine that the original story was probably aimed
to be a bit more cerebral than it ended up being here and as such I
think while Verhoeven has made a good solid sci-fi action film, he also
has somewhat dumbed down the concepts a bit as well to make room for the
film's mindless violence. And if that is the case with the story then
it in itself is a bit of a letdown as it would have been good if the
film had a better balance of its clever ideas as well as the action
involved too, but here it has to be said its probably 80% action and 20%
ideas. But again I guess they needed to make the film more accessible
to a mainstream audience and with Arnie involved you would always get
your fair share of violence anyway.
Anyway that's it for the flaws.
SUM UP
So that's it for my look at Total Recall which is still a very enjoyable
sci-fi action film and its hard to believe that its been out for 33 years already! And it has to be said that even though the film has its share of
cheesy moments and a rather excessive level of violence its still one of
Arnie's strongest films and it still is worth a look after three decades on from its release.
So, I will rate Total Recall:
9 out of 10
So, that's it for this one and I will be back soon with another post hopefully before Christmas.
Until then get your ass to Mars! ;-)
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